


A Little Ditty

by Ray_Writes



Series: Tumblr Prompts [27]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alcohol, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-01 18:17:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14526387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ray_Writes/pseuds/Ray_Writes
Summary: The Doctor finds out about one of Donna's hidden talents.





	A Little Ditty

**Author's Note:**

> And here's another little prompt for you all to hopefully enjoy! The particular character/role mentioned is actually one that Catherine Tate has mentioned wanting to play, so I thought I'd add that in as a fun nod to that. Personally, I think she'd be brilliant!

“But Donna, why not?”

“Because I said no, that’s why.”

She was marching away from him, but around the console in circles rather than up one of the corridors, so he felt safe in pressing a little more. “Okay, but why are you saying no?”

They’d stopped in for a visit to her family, their second since making this relationship of theirs official. And he’d thought everything had been going fine. Wilfred had broken out the photo albums since Sylvia hadn’t been about to, and they’d sat there flipping through while Donna grumbled a bit and threatened to go digging through the TARDIS. But she hadn’t been upset. Not till Wilfred had flipped another page.

“Is that you on the stage?” The Doctor had asked, pointing out a photo of a little red-haired girl who was partially obscured behind a mic on a stand. Her arms were thrown out wide and there was a huge smile on her face.

“Oh, that must’ve been that talent show,” Wilf had said. “You were in primary school, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, suppose,” Donna had muttered.

It had been very hard to keep from bouncing on the edge of his seat on the couch. “What was your act?”

“Singing,” Wilf had answered when it was clear Donna hadn’t been planning to. “Donna was always doing those little competitions and such at school.”

“Really?” The Doctor had turned to look at her. “I’ve never heard you sing.”

“Yeah, because it comes up so often when you’re trying to fight off alien invasions,” she’d replied, rather snappish. That should have been the first clue.

“She did it more as a kid,” Wilf had continued. “They don’t hold talent shows much for adults. Or at least they didn’t before. Suppose there’s all that television stuff now. That’d be something, eh?”

The Doctor had shared a grin with the man. Donna on _X Factor_. Well, she’d certainly stand out amongst the contestants with all her brilliance. Would cut a bit into traveling, though.

“Okay, think that’s enough of memory lane,” Donna had said abruptly. She’d lifted the book out of Wilfred’s lap and snapped it shut. “Mum’s probably about done with dinner anyway.”

She’d seemed to calm over the course of the meal, and he’d seen no problem in bringing the topic back up as they were walking back to the TARDIS. “So what were you singing in the photo?”

“You think I remember?”

“Well, what have you sung before?”

She’d cast a suspicious look up at him. “Why are you so keen on this?”

“Because I haven’t gotten to hear you sing yet. So what did you used to sing? Or what would you sing now?”

Donna had gaped at him for a moment. Then her mouth had snapped shut and she’d pushed her way past him into the TARDIS. “Absolutely not.”

And now here they were, with Donna mad and him confused as to why she was mad.

“I don’t want to sing. I haven’t wanted to sing in years, so just drop it, alright?”

“But you looked so happy.”

“Yeah, cause I was a little kid who didn’t know any better.”

He frowned. “What happened?”

Donna froze. “Who said anything happened?”

“Something changed your mind — and I refuse to believe it was that you realized you were horrible,” he added just before she could open her mouth.

Donna stood there a moment, then sighed and dropped into the jump seat. “I always wanted to be on the West End. That’s what I’d say every time they asked ‘oh, what do you want to be when you grow up?’ ‘I want to be Nancy’.”

“Nancy?”

“From  _ Oliver! _ ,” she explained, a wistful smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“Oh, right.” He nodded. “You’d make a brilliant Nancy.”

She shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t. Don’t exactly look like the type of people they want up on stage, do I?”

“Donna, if I have to keep saying this for the next nine-hundred years I will, but you are  _ beautiful _ . And even if you weren’t, that shouldn’t matter.”

“Well, that’s the thing about normal life, isn’t it?” She shrugged. “It does matter. Look, it was just some childhood rubbish. Who’d even want to hear me sing?”

“I do! I want to hear you sing,” he insisted. The Doctor sat down next to her and took up her hands. “Maybe you’ve stopped doing it, but it was something you loved to do. And there’s nothing that makes me happier than seeing you do what you love.”

A real smile rose to her lips at last, then she ducked her head into her shoulder. “Anybody ever told you you’re too much sometimes?”

“Maybe.” He tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. “Donna, you don’t have to if you don’t want, but...would you sing?”

She was quiet for a long moment, thinking it over. “I’m so out of practice. And I don’t know what I’d sing.”

“Well, you wanted to be Nancy, right?”

She looked up at him, a clear question in her eyes.

The Doctor grinned. “Let’s make you Nancy. Still got that wench dress?”

—-

“You’re terrible!” Donna declared later, skipping round tables in a pub somewhere in Southeast London on a warm night in the 19th century. He’d remember the exact coordinates a bit better if they hadn’t both had more than a little to drink in preparation and, in Donna’s case, to combat nerves.

“Right, and you’re brilliant! Okay, one more round!  _ Oom-pah-pah, oom-pah-pah! _ ”

She’d had the versus memorized and sounded absolutely lovely on them. Even on the choruses through gasps of laughter, she carried the tune far better than he.

They’d even got some of the other patrons to join in, most of them looking rather bemused by the whole spectacle. But they seemed to like Donna perfectly fine. Even a man on the severely out-of-tune piano in the back seemed to have caught the basic melody. 

Though that rather beefy bloke who was possibly what passed for security looked like he was coming over to put an end to his caterwauling. The Doctor rounded a table into the next aisle.

“ _ They all suppose  _ — oh!”

He’d gone crashing straight into Donna. She stopped singing as well. Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were flushed red. His hands were on her waist and somehow she hadn’t even warned him about that, but that probably had to do with the fact that her had gone up into his hair, and then they were kissing and he couldn’t really think about anything else.

It didn’t take long for them to get thrown out after that, toppling over into a cobblestone alleyway. Donna giggled into his chest while he laughed and failed to regain his breath.

“How about that?” He wheezed. “Donna Noble’s opening debut.”

She raised her head. “I bloody love you.”

Donna kissed him before he could reply. But he thought she got the gist.


End file.
